The Search BeginsAlternate Universes Saga Part 2
by Aera-Mae
Summary: Aeramae gets ready to begin her search for Earth's Special Forces, when she has an unexpected encounter with Piccolo


This particular chapter has our lovely heroine meeting the ever elusive Piccolo. They have a talk on the way to greet the others and...hey, why should I say anything more? Read the story! Disclaimer: I do not own any of the DBZ characters mentioned within my works. Those belong to Akira Toriyama & Co. I simply own my own created characters.  
  
The Search Begins  
  
By: Aeramae/Straea  
  
Aeramae opened the hatch to her pod after a moments difficulty. She wondered about it and then dismissed her thought as it was forming. After all, it had been a rough landing, so it would make sense if the door had gotten jammed a little.  
  
She stepped outside and checked herself over. She wasn't hurt anywhere that she could feel or see. That was good. Didn't need her or her beautiful tail damaged, not before a big meeting. She wanted to make a good impression when she met everyone on this planet for the first time.  
  
Aeramae immeadiately chastized herself for thinking that. She was here on serious business. Not some pleasure excursion. She had to get serious. That brought a small smile to her face for an instant. She was a Sayian, and as such didn't joke around much. She was proud was all it was.  
  
She leaned into her pod and pulled out her energy sensor. It was still whole. Even though she didn't need it, she still wanted to use it. No sense in wasting a perfectly good piece of equipment. She put it on and then clicked on the power switch. She looked at her screen and noticed that someone with an extremely high energy level was nearing her location.  
  
Well, looks like I'm going to get to work a lot quicker than what I originally thought.  
  
She flew out of the crater she had created, and hovered over it. She looked out over the horizon and got her first good look at the planet she had just landed on. She gasped in shock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Earth was more beautiful than her home planet. Her sensor beeped, jolting her out of her thoughts. Her visitor was almost upon her.  
  
Aeramae was trying to decide what to do, when the owner of the high energy level showed up. She looked up at him, wondering why his body was painted green with splashes of pink on his arms. That was extremely odd. Also, she wondered why he had shown up, apparently looking for her.  
  
"Who are you?" the green person asked cooly. He didn't seem to like her much already, and his gaze kept wavering to her tail.  
  
"Aerama. And you?" She was curious about this person, but not so much that she was going to be rude in return. There was so much she wanted to know, but felt it better to try to get to know him first.  
  
"My name is Piccolo." He was now outright staring at her tail. It was making her nervous.  
  
"Is there something wrong?" she asked him.  
  
"Yes, you have a tail."  
  
"Yes I do. Do you have a problem with that?" she asked, somewhat peevishly.  
  
"Maybe."  
  
Aeramae was liking this green person less and less. Why was he being so cool towards her? She didn't come to this planet, this universe, to make enemies. She came here to try to save people.  
  
"Well, you're green," she pointed out.  
  
"True. But why does that surprise you? Don't you know that all Namekians are green?"  
  
"What's a Namekian?" she asked, confused by what he had just said. He looked at her, as though he were shocked about something.  
  
"Where are you from?" he asked, trying to recover from his shock.  
  
"From the planet Chiaoutzu. It's in a different universe from yours," she told him, raising her chin slightly as if daring him to make an issue out of her origins.  
  
"And what are you doing here?" he asked, coldly and calmly.  
  
"I'm here on an important mission. I was sent here to save a group of people. You are one of those people. The others include Goku, Krillin, and Vegeta, as well as the rest of the planet if I can manage it."  
  
The shocked look crossed Piccolo's features once more. He tried to process what she had just told him. She was a Sayian, that much was evident from her tail. And from the armor she was wearing. But beyond that, he wasn't sure what to make of her. Was she telling him the truth?  
  
He decided that the safest course of action would be to take her to see the rest of the group. On the way there he would try to figure out what she was really doing here. Besides, she claimed she was here to save them, but from what?  
  
"You're coming with me," he told her. She raised an eyebrow. He was giving her an order, how amusing. She decided to play along for the time being.  
  
"Very well, I'll come with you. Where are we going?"  
  
"We're going to see some of the other people that you claim you are here to save."  
  
Aeramae took off her sensor and crushed it between her hands. There would be no further use of it if she was being led to where she wanted to go. A small thrill went up her spine as she realized that she would be meeting Vegeta very soon.  
  
"Well, let's get going," she said, smiling at him as she let the remnants of the sensor fall into the crater below her. He looked at her once more and turned to face the direction he had come from.  
  
"This way. We're going to take the long route," he informed her.  
  
"Why take the long way? I need to see Vegeta right away!" she cried. Then she gasped, realizing what she had just said. The Namekian didn't seem to notice, however. At least, he didn't make any sign that he had noticed.  
  
"Follow me. I need to talk to you before we meet everyone else," he explained to her, his voice edged with what seemed to be a practiced calm.  
  
"Let me guess, you don't believe me," she replied, her voice full of scorn. Piccolo said nothing.  
  
Fine, that's just fine by me. I'll just have to make him believe me.  
  
"We'll talk about that on the way," he said after his moment of silence. "In fact, that's the reason we're taking the detour."  
  
"So you can see if I'm telling the truth?" she sneered.  
  
"So I can learn more about you," he stated. "I want to know how you know Vegeta, why you're here, and how you could possibly survive the destruction of your home planet."  
  
"I've already told you why I'm here!" she said, exasperated. "And my home planet wasn't destroyed! As for how I know Vegeta, let's just say I once knew another with the same name. I'm not sure if they are at all the same or not, but if our reports are true, then the simililarities between them are uncanny."  
  
Piccolo wanted to ask her what she was talking about, but decided to save his questions until after he heard her story. He wanted to be informed as to what her background was like to be able to make intelligent inquiries.  
  
"Let's go. You can tell me your story on our way there," he said as he flew off. Aeramae sighed and flew off after him. She pulled up next to him and began to tell her story. She told him of the engagement, and of the following years. Of how she and Vegeta had been mated for life, and had been pretty normal lives, when one day, when they had been married for only a year, all the able men of the village were called off on an important mission. Nobody knew the details, only that some would not return.  
  
Three months after she had said her farewells to her love, she, and all the other women in the village who were anxiously awaiting the return of their loved ones, received a message that none would be returning home. They had all died in battle. Things looked so bleak in the village, that even the half-sayian Bulma had been inclined to be nice to Aeramae, putting aside their petty differences so that they could help each other through their time of loss.  
  
Not long after the devestating blow to their planet, the village elders discovered that the same menace that had killed so many people and races in the universe was now heading towards another. The had to delegate someone to carry out a mission to protect the planet where the villain was heading, as well as destroy the threat. There were no eligible men, seeing as how they were left only with little boys, old men, and the women. It had looked as if they were going to give up, when Aeramae stepped forward. She had volunteered, believeing nothing could sustain her on her home planet. The elders agreed to her leaving, knowing her to now be the strongest warrior on their planet.  
  
They breifed her on her mission. She was to go to a planet called Earth, and save it. The group she was being sent to assist and save was known as Earth's Special Forces. When she asked how she would know them, they told her their names. She almost rethought her decision, until they told her she would have a chance to save Vegeta. She got dressed in the armor she was now currently wearing, said a heartfelt good-by to her greif stricken mother, and got into the pod. She set her course very carefully, and was on her way. It had taken her many months to reach her destination, but she was finally here.  
  
"And now I'm flying with you," she concluded. She looked over at him, trying to see if she could tell what he was thinking.  
  
"That's all very interesting. I was wondering why your hair is so straight though," he said. He saw her puzzled look and decided to try to explain what he meant. "You see, the Sayian's I've encountered before have all had crazy hair. Your's is normal. Why is that?"  
  
"I guess it's because where I come from it's how you tell the men from the women at a distance. The men have the 'crazy' hair and the women have the 'normal' hair. Of course, the lengths vary with everyone, but that's natural. Our hair is determined from birth, and never changes unless we choose to do something about it."  
  
"Yes, that's what Vegeta told us once. Very well, I'll believe you for the time being. However, we might have to ask Dende to verify it for us.  
  
"Fine by me, even if I don't know who the hell you're talking about," she conceded as they flew on. They flew in silence for a few moments, each trying to figure out what to do or say next.  
  
"We're almost there," Piccolo said, breaking the silence. She looked ahead of her, and saw a huge, sprawling city streatch out before her. She didn't like the look of it. It was too big, and looked like it was too busy. She decided she preferred wilderness and quiet villages to what she was now seeing.  
  
"They all live here?" she inquired, pointing.  
  
"No, not all of them. Just Yamcha, Bulma, Vegeta, and Bulma's family, as well as the rest of the city. We're going to see Yamcha and Vegeta first, and then we're going to see Goku. From there we'll see what we're going to do," he said, his tone matter of fact and simple.  
  
"Great, let's get going then," she said, trying to supress the excitement she felt.  
  
I don't care if it is or isn't the same Vegeta I loved. I'm going to see him. And I'll be able to save this one. Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to restart my life with him, she thought as they continued on their way. 


End file.
